Ritu Arya and Tewfik Jallab on the emotional fallout of ‘Apollo Has Fallen’

The globetrotting action series, Apollo Has Fallen sees Vincent, a former soldier in the French Army and MI6 agent Zara facing threats that include hijacking, kidnapping and a bio-weapon. Betrayal and deceit foster a sense of not being able to trust anyone.

In the explosive first episode, Zara, played by British actor Ritu Arya, makes the difficult decision to leave Vincent (Tewfik Jallab) behind. “It’s interesting where we find them at the beginning of this season,” Ritu says over a video call from Paris.

Apollo Has Fallen is a sequel to Paris Has Fallen set in the ‘Has Fallen’ universe which featured Gerard Butler playing the lone man standing against chaos as Secret Service agent Mike Banning in three films, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, and Angel Has Fallen.

In Paris Has Fallen, Vincent and Zara go through a lot together, Ritu says. “They have learnt to trust, respect and even grow fond of each other. I don’t think Zara realises how dependent she is on Vincent until she thinks she might lose him. It is a shock to her how much she’s affected by the knowledge, and how vulnerable that makes her.”

It was great to play that emotional arc this season alongside the big, action set pieces, Ritu says. “She’s in fear and doesn’t know how to go on without Vincent.” Tewfik, also speaking from Paris, laughs, saying, “I was so happy to be separated from Zara. It was chill, there was no pressure.”  

Ritu Arya and Tewfik Jallab in ‘Apollo Has Fallen’
| Photo Credit:
Lionsgate Play

In reality though, the French actor says, getting serious, “Vincent and Zara have this natural dependence on each other. You realise you care about someone when you think you might lose them. While Vincent knows that he’s alive, and there is a possibility that he will survive, somewhere at the back of his mind, he thinks, ‘Zara might save me’.”

There are further complications in Zara and Vincent’s relationship when Vincent falls in love. “There is a betrayal in the friendship between Zara and Vincent. When they are separated, Vincent thinks about Zara all the time and when they reunite it is a climactic moment for my character.”

Unwilling to talk about the twist that surprised them, because as Ritu points out, that would be a spoiler and Tewfik pitches in with, “She is my boss,” the actors speak instead of their most challenging scenes.

For Tewfik, playing a man infected with a deadly virus was difficult. “How do I play that? How do I play a man who would probably die soon, who only has a few hours left? It was probably the most technically difficult thing to play.”

Vincent also needs to get close to Rachel, a doctor played by Annabel Scholey who is being coerced into weaponising the virus. “I had to share personal details about my childhood, and I also needed to escape.”

Ritu Arya and Tewfik Jallab in ‘Apollo Has Fallen’
| Photo Credit:
Lionsgate Play

Ritu talks about an action sequence in a supermarket, which proved physically demanding. “We’re running around Chinatown in London on a Sunday,” Ritu says. “So you can imagine the chaos. Then we dash into this Chinese supermarket where there is a chance of mercenaries coming through any of the aisles. Zara is juggling her hyper vigilance whilst protecting a screaming civilian clinging onto her, and we had half a day to shoot it,” Ritu says laughing. “That was quite challenging. But it looks great.”

Apollo Has Fallen is currently streaming on Lionsgate Play